CIvic Obligations
by krashkart
Summary: After dealing with the Hangmen Rhade thought he would be able to settle down and enjoy some domestic bliss. He was wrong. Sequel to Family Obligations
1. Chapter 1

**Civic Obligations Part 1**

"One last piece of news for you to mull over as you're eating your lunch," said the voice on the radio. "I'm sure all of you listening will be pleased to learn that last fiscal year was an excellent one for the company. According to my sources, Seefra Fuel and Iron's profits last year were up one hundred eighty eight percent from the previous year. To celebrate, company management has increased their salaries by an average of forty percent. Unfortunately, it seems that their munificence to themselves means that there will be no pay raise for the rank and file working the mines this year. This is Virgil Vox bringing you the news the company doesn't want you to hear, signing off."

"Well, that sucks," said Harper as he turned the bar's radio off.

There were shouts of agreement and a few 'eff the company's from the patrons seated at the tables and counter.

"What I'd like to know," said Trance as she placed a trio of drinks on a serving tray for Jeri to carry to one of the tables, "is how Virgil gets his information."

"I don't know," answered Jeri as she picked up the serving tray, "but he's been broadcasting ever since I was a little girl."

The conversation was interrupted by a yelp of pain and a chorus of laughter coming from one of the tables. The two women turned toward the sound to see Doyle striding away from one of the tables, and a patron nursing an injured hand while the other men at the table laughed at his discomfort.

"Trouble, Doyle?" asked Harper as Doyle approached the bar counter. He had a strict "Do Not Fondle the Waitresses" policy and gave the girls plenty of leeway to enforce it as they felt necessary. His only stipulation was that they didn't do any permanent damage to the patrons. If permanent damage was necessary, he kept a fléchette gun under the counter for just that purpose.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," said Doyle while giving the offending patron a glare. "He was just… Oh crap, here comes crazy Orlund."

"Who?" asked Jeri.

"Orlund," repeated Doyle, inclining her head toward the customer who had just entered the bar and was walking toward the women. "He's the sole survivor of the Argile cave-in. He came staggering out of the hills on the other side of the divide a week after the accident, delirious and half dead from thirst, raving about tunnels and lost races. One of the local farmers found him and nursed him back to health. He tried to show the company inspectors how he escaped but couldn't find the tunnel he says he exited from. The company decided that if he couldn't show them the tunnels, he must have hallucinated about them. Shortly after that, he quit the company and began crawling all over the hills looking for a way back into the tunnels.

"Let him have a few drinks and he'll start babbling about the cave-in, hidden tunnels, and some mysterious 'elder race.' Then someone will tell him he's lying, he'll get belligerent, and I'll have to toss him out. He's hasn't been in for a couple of months. He told Trance he was going to go back to looking for a way into the tunnels. I guess this means he didn't find one. He's nothing but trouble."

Trance rolled her eyes heavenwards at Doyle's rant. "You're just jealous because he doesn't call you 'princess' and kiss your hand when he greets you. I bet if you were nicer to him, he'd call you 'princess,' too." She walked out from behind the counter. "Come on," she said to Jeri. "I'll introduce you to him."

Deciding that Trance had a point about being nice, Jeri followed. Orlund looked normal enough. He was somewhere between Harper and Dylan in height with a medium build and a face that most people would call good-looking, but which badly needed to be reintroduced to a razor. The only unusual thing about him was his cap, which resembled a peaked leather helmet with flaps that covered his ears. When he saw the two young women approaching he removed his hat, a courtesy Jeri had rarely seen here in the bar, and with a reverent "my princess," bowed deeply in Trance's direction.

"Welcome back, Orlund," said Trance when Orlund straightened up. "I've missed you."

"And I you, my princess," replied Orlund. He looked quizzically at Jeri.

Seeing the puzzled look in Orlund's eyes, Trance gestured between Jeri and Orlund.. "Jeri, " she said, "I'd like you to meet my friend Orlund. He's been away for a while. The last time he was in here was while you were taking care of your baby. Orlund this is—"

Comprehension dawned in Orlund's eyes. Before Trance could finish the introduction, he interrupted. "Sheriff Rhade's inamorata. Your fame precedes you, my lady. I am honored to meet you." He took Jeri's hand and bent over to kiss it.

"I'm… uh… I'm pleased to meet you, too, Orlund," stammered Jeri, completely unsure as to how to react.

"Now I have two princesses to watch over," said Orlund.

From somewhere behind her Jeri heard Doyle mutter, "Oh no, not her, too."

Apparently Orlund heard the comment as well for he turned toward Doyle. "And the Lady Doyle, the gallant guardian of this establishment. How are you today, my lady?" He gave Doyle a bow, although not as deep as the one he had given Jeri.

Realizing that not only had she been overheard but that Orlund was answering her rudeness with politeness, Doyle had the grace to blush. She quickly recovered. "You know Harper's rules, Trance. He gets one free drink. And Orlund, if you start making trouble, Trance and Jeri's protector or not, I'll still throw you out the door."

Orlund nodded his understanding and sat down at an empty table. Trance hurried to get him his drink while Jeri went back to the tables, picking up empties and taking orders. She still had a few more hours before her shift ended.

As Doyle had predicted, after a few drinks Orlund became belligerent. He was in the process of challenging a miner nearly twice his size to a fight when Doyle intervened and escorted him out the door.

"Time's up, Jeri," said Harper a few hours later as he pointed at the clock mounted on the wall. "You're working for free now."

"Working for you is almost like working for free," retorted Jeri as she put her tray on the bar counter. It was an exaggeration, of course; Harper actually paid her relatively well. It wasn't as much as she had made before he hired her, but she could keep her clothes on and was allowed to keep everything she made.

"Yeah right," said Harper, the grin on his face matching Jeri's. "Next thing you know you'll be asking for days off. His grin changed to something more serious "Make sure you get here early tomorrow. It's going to be a busy day. I contacted Andromeda about the shipment Beka is bringing. She said Beka will be arriving tomorrow morning." He stopped talking and looked thoughtfully out one of the bar's windows. "Maybe," he said, "you should wait till the sheriff gets here, and then he can walk you home."

"You know Rhade doesn't like being called Sheriff," scolded Jeri. "He says he and the others aren't anything more than glorified security guards."

"Harper's right, though," said Doyle as she filled a glass for Trance to take to a patron. "Things have been ugly out in town ever since the company instituted those new rules on dead work. It's going to get even worse after Virgil's broadcast, and you can bet that the Black and Tans will be out in force just looking for an excuse to break some heads. Rumor has it that the Association has been trying to stir things up as well. You really should wait till Rhade or one of his deputies arrives and can escort you home."

"I can't wait," said Jeri just a touch impatiently as she reached for her shawl. "Rhade has night shift in the market tonight. I need to get home so he can have a good dinner, and I can make him something he can take with him when he goes back to work. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She quickly walked out the door and into the street deliberately cutting off any further discussion on the subject..

The quickest way home would take her through one of the town plazas where the residents obtained their fresh water. As Jeri approached the plaza area she heard the sound of a multitude of angry voices and another amplified voice stating that the demonstration was illegal and all participants must depart the area immediately. Jeri rounded the corner that led to the plaza and stopped. Before her were a number of brown clad backs—company police, called Black and Tans by the residents of south-side because of the brown uniforms and black equipment belts they wore. A group of Black and Tans were facing a crowd of what looked to her untrained eyes like several hundred angry townspeople. One of the company policemen was holding up a bullhorn and demanding that the crowd disperse. The crowd for its part was demanding that the company change its policies on dead work and give them a share of the company profits that Virgil Vox had mentioned in his earlier broadcast.

Jeri ducked back around the corner. She certainly wasn't going to be going through the plaza to get home. She would have to cut through one of the side streets and come out behind the crowd. As she moved through the side streets she could still hear the angry voices and the bullhorn. She came out behind the crowd at the edge of the plaza. She didn't stay to watch. The crowd sounded even angrier than it did earlier. Abruptly the shouts of anger turned to ones of alarm and fear as she heard the cracking sound of bullets passing through the air. The Black and Tans were firing at the protesters.

Panic spread through the crowd like wildfire, the members scattering like a flock of frightened birds, The majority of the crowd ran towards the alleyway Jeri had just stepped out of, surging toward her like a human tidal wave. Jeri started running as well, fearing not the bullets, but the crowd of people. She entered the alleyway and began looking for an alcove or doorway she could take shelter in and let the crowd pass, but there were none.

Jeri's search for a refuge proved her undoing—she stumbled on an uneven piece of ground and fell to her knees. She started to scramble to her feet, but before she could get erect, she was knocked down again. She had just enough time to curl into a protective ball and cover her head as the first foot came down on her.


	2. Chapter 2

While Jeri was waiting tables, Rhade and his deputies had been busy with a marksmanship and unarmed combat demonstration in the market area. Rhade had suggested it to the various vendors in the market as a way to lure potential customers into the market place. In reality, it was a show of force. Rhade had learned early in his stay on Seefra that a bad reputation was a good thing to have, and he wanted the word to get out that his deputies were nearly as dangerous as he was.

Rhade had never intended to become Seefra City's chief law enforcement officer, but after taking out the Hangmen, the position had been more or less thrust upon him by the citizens of the south-side. At first it had been just him and Doyle, occasionally assisted by Harper, but after a bloody shootout with what was left of the Hangmen, he began attracting help. He and his assistants were now what passed for law in south-side.

And 'what passed for' was the correct term. In reality, there was no law. Company policy was that whatever south-siders did to each other was no concern of the company unless it damaged company property, and that company employees who chose to live in south-side did so at their own risk. The company police spent their time guarding company property and north-side company employees. They only entered south-side in groups and then only on company business, usually to evict a tenant who had fallen behind on his or her rent or to close down a merchant who hadn't kept up payments on their vendor's license.

Rhade didn't consider himself a lawman, nor did he consider his methods law. But then outside of company regulations, Seefra City didn't have any sort of judicial system. The few individuals who had previously attempted to establish one had all met untimely ends. Rhade didn't have so much as an office let alone a lockup. A first-time thief could expect a pair of broken wrists. Repeat offenders were taken to the edge of town, given food, water, and a compass and told to start walking. Most of the exiles made it to the next town. It was harsh, but it was better than what had been in place before.

At the moment, Rhade was sparing with one of his deputies, an ex-miner named Bara who had been fired for being too vocal in his criticism of company safety policies. Bara was as well-built as Rhade and both men were stripped to the waist and sweating profusely, so probably not too surprisingly many of the onlookers were female. Rhade had just blocked a kick and was moving into position for a grappling attack when he heard the sound of shots being fired. Not one or two shots, but a volley. He dropped his guard to try to determine where the shots had come from and was rewarded for his efforts with a blow to the side of the head that would have knocked him unconscious if his partner hadn't pulled his punch.

"What—?" his partner started to speak but was stopped by Rhade's upraised hand. There were more shots, then the sound of screaming. The crowd of onlookers and his deputies looked at him uneasily.

"Dennic, Moretti," barked Rhade to two of his deputies who were fully dressed and armed. "Take one of the two-ways and investigate. That sounded like it was coming from the area of the east plaza. Don't do anything rash. Just find out what happened and report in." As the two men ran off in the direction of the shooting, Rhade spoke to the rest of his crew. "The rest of you get dressed and check your weapons. If Dennic and Moretti don't report back within ten minutes, we're going out in force."

Six minutes later, Dennic's voice came over the two-way. "Sheriff, sir, you need to get here fast and bring the others."

"What's the situation, Dennic?" asked Rhade, not wanting to run blind into a firefight.

"It's bad, sir, real bad. There's been a massacre."

When Rhade and the rest of his deputies arrived on scene they saw that, if anything, Dennic had underestimated the extent of the carnage. The plaza looked like a battlefield, littered with the dead and wounded, the hard-packed ground nearly awash in blood. Some of the wounded were lying on the ground writhing in pain while others not so seriously hurt were either sitting in shock or trying to help.

"What happened here, Dennic?" asked Rhade as he knelt beside one of the victims and checked for a pulse. There wasn't one.

It was Moretti who answered, tears streaming down his cheeks. "We don't rightly know, sir. By the time we got here, it was all over. There were bodies everywhere. It was the Black and Tans. There was a squad of them. Some of the survivors say they just started shooting at the crowd for no reason. Some of the Tans were hurt, too. At least one of them was dead, and they were bandaging another one. I could see the blood. I tried to ask the squad leader what happened, but he just told me to back off or I'd get what the others got. That's when we called you. The bastards didn't even try to help. They just picked up their wounded and left."

Rhade clapped the young man on the shoulder to steady him. "You did fine, Moretti. Now, I need you and Dennic to go to the Oasis and have Doyle bring Trance and the bar's medical kit here. "

"Trance, sir?" asked Dennic.

"Trance," confirmed Rhade. "Before she was injured, she was my unit's medic." That was enough of an explanation. Most Seefrans thought Rhade and his companions from the Oasis were veterans from the losing side of one of the numerous wars that were continually taking place on the other planets in the Seefran system. Rhade had never attempted to correct the assumption. It answered a number of questions he didn't want asked. "With luck, when she sees the injured her hands might remember even if her mind doesn't." A humorless smile crossed his face. "And if not, one more set of untrained hands isn't going to make a difference. Now go. We're going to need all the help we can get."

With help on the way Rhade turned his attention to bringing some order to the chaos, first sending runners out to fetch which ever doctors were available and willing to help, then supervising the treatment of the wounded. Now that the Black and Tans were no longer in the area, the local residents were arriving and trying, mostly ineffectively, to help. Rhade wasn't a combat medic, but he had experience dealing with gunshot wounds. He could at least ensure that the would-be helpers didn't cause any more damage to the wounded until real doctors arrived.

Time passed. Rhade was busy giving encouragement to one of the less severely wounded when he heard Doyle's voice. "We're here, Rhade."

Rhade stood up to see Doyle and Trance along with Dennic and Moretti. Doyle was carrying the medical kit that Harper kept in the bar. It was one of the combat medic kits that had once been used by Andromeda's Lancers. Trance's eyes were wide in horror. Doyle on the other hand had an expression on her face that could only be described as murderous. It was, Rhade thought, very fortunate that the Black and Tans had left the area or he would have had a second massacre to deal with.

Doyle placed the medical kit on the ground and opened it up, taking out pressure bandages, quick clot, and other emergency first aid supplies. With Trance forgetting most of her medical skills, it had fallen on Doyle to pick up the slack. She had gotten a fair bit of practice patching up Rhade and his deputies over the past few months. She handed Trance some of the supplies, gave her instructions, and then turned to Rhade.

"We're missing something, Rhade," she said

"What do you mean?"

"We're only taking care of the injured we see here in the plaza. The survivors say that the crowd panicked when the shooting started. There might be more wounded in some of the streets leading away from the plaza.."

Rhade let out a string of obscenities. He had completely overlooked that idea. He barked out orders to his men, sending them out into the side streets to look for any injured people who may have escaped the plaza area before succumbing to their wounds. Doyle, now that there were real doctors on the scene, went with them. After a few moments, one of Rhade's men came running back into the plaza area.

"Sir, Doyle says you need to come with me. It's urgent."

"What is it, Morgan?"

"I'd rather not say, sir. Just come with me."

Deciding that action would be better than words, Rhade followed his deputy. They hadn't gone far down one of the side streets when they encountered Doyle. She was crouched over an unmoving body. She looked up as the two men approached.

"Rhade, it's Jeri."

Rhade covered the remaining distance between him and Doyle so quickly that Morgan later swore Rhade broke the sound barrier. Rhade knelt down beside the still form of his mate.

"Is she… Is she…?" He couldn't force himself to ask the question.

Doyle changed her position slightly and Rhade could see Jeri's face. Her eyes were open but her gaze was unfocused and she didn't appear to be aware of her surroundings or to recognize Rhade. There was a slight bluish tint to her lips and her breathing was rapid almost panting.

"She's alive," said Doyle. "But I think she has a punctured lung and maybe other internal injuries She needs more help than she can get here on Seefra."

Rhade jumped to his feet. "Morgan!" he shouted to his deputy, who was standing a respectful distance from Rhade. "Get back to the Oasis as fast as you can. When you get there, tell Harper that Jeri's been hurt and that he needs to contact Andromeda. Tell him to have her to send down a spacecraft onboard delivery vessel rigged for medevac. And that I need it now. Have her set it down at the dry stacking area"

"Andromeda?" asked Morgan. "Who is—?"

"Never mind who she is. Just get to the Oasis and have Harper contact her."

"Morgan," called out Doyle as the man started to turn away. "There's a collapsible stretcher in the med kit. When you get to the plaza, tell someone to bring it back here. We're going to need to carry Jeri to the landing site. We can't wait for a wagon."

Morgan left the alleyway at almost a dead run. Rhade went back to Jeri. Doyle was cradling her head in her lap; there was an almost terrified look on her face. Rhade suspected that he had the same look on his own face.

A few long moments later a pair of Rhade's deputies accompanied by Trance appeared, carrying the stretcher. The men, working under Doyle's supervision, lifted Jeri onto the litter and set out to rendezvous with the medevac vessel.


	3. Chapter 3

Rhade took one more step, came to the end of the corridor, made a military about-face, and began striding back down the corridor in the other direction. He had been pacing the corridor outside Andromeda's primary surgery for over an hour, ever since he had brought the medevac vessel aboard her.

When the medevac vessel landed in the stacking area, Rhade had taken over piloting duties, while Jeri, along with Trance and Doyle, rode in the passenger area. Rhade had pushed the vessel's inertial compensators to their limits and the engines past theirs. His landing on Andromeda hadn't quite been a crash landing, but both Andromeda's landing bay and the craft's hull were going to be in need of repairs. When the vessel made its touchdown they were greeted by a pair of Andromeda's Marias, who took charge of Jeri's stretcher and carried her to surgery. When Rhade had attempted to follow, Andromeda's holographic self had quite firmly insisted that Rhade would be staying out of the operating room until she gave him permission to enter.

She had also suggested, although not so firmly, that Doyle take Trance to the hydroponic gardens where the girl could have a good cry. Trance was quite capable of dealing out violence when the need arose, but violence was as foreign to her true nature as vegetarianism was to a dire cat. This particular instance seemed to have hit her particularly hard.

Rhade had covered about a third of the length of the corridor when he heard footsteps behind him. Hoping that it was either Doyle or one of Andromeda's Marias, Rhade spun around. Somewhat disappointingly it was Dylan.

"Welcome aboard, Rhade," said Dylan. "It's been awhile. That was quite the landing you made with the medevac vessel. Andromeda says it was the most controlled crash she's ever seen."

"I was in a bit of a rush," answered Rhade.

"So I noticed," said Dylan. "According to Andromeda the medevac vessel will need a considerable repair job before it is serviceable again. I expect you to treat my vessels with more caution from here on out."

At first Rhade thought Dylan was joking, but after looking into his face he realized that Dylan meant exactly what he was saying. However, before Rhade could reply, Dylan continued.

"Now that you're here, I'm hoping you can help me with some of Andromeda's repairs. Her Marias are good, but there are some things that simply need an organic's intuition."

Rhade came as close as he had ever come in his military career to striking a superior officer. The woman who was for all intents and purposes his spouse was in Andromeda's surgery fighting for her life, and Dylan didn't even ask about her. Instead, he was complaining about Rhade's piloting. His fist was clenched and half raised, but before he could say or do anything he would later regret, Andromeda's holographic self materialized and placed herself between the two men. "Captain," she said to Dylan, "something's come up. We need to discuss it on the command deck. Immediately."

As soon as Dylan was out of sight Andromeda's holographic form reappeared in front of Rhade. Rhade had seen her angry before, but this time she looked absolutely furious. Her hands were clenched into fists and held rigidly at her sides while her teeth were clenched together. After a moment the tension left her image..

"I'm sorry, Rhade," she said. "Dylan's been under a lot of stress lately."

Rhade bit back a sarcastic retort. Andromeda wasn't the one he should be angry with. Instead he asked, "Can I see her now?"

The last of the tension left Andromeda's image. She was clearly glad that Rhade wasn't going to press the issue. "You can see her, but she's asleep. I'm keeping her sedated until she's further along in her healing."

The door to the surgery slid open. Rhade stepped inside, almost dreading what he would find. Jeri was lying on one of the medical tables swathed in tubes and wires, monitoring equipment, and other devices he didn't recognize.

"Life support," explained Andromeda. "The nanobots can repair the damage to her organs, but not while they're functioning."

"Will she recover?" asked Rhade as he looked down on Jeri's still form.

Andromeda's holographic form started to speak and then stopped. Rhade suspected she was conferring with her alter ego.

"It depends on what you mean by recover," she answered. "My sister self and I have her stabilized and, given time, her injuries will heal. But…" She paused again.

"But," repeated Rhade.

"Her heart stopped twice en route to me. Doyle was able to resuscitate her, but she's not a doctor. There was brain damage." ."

At Andromeda's words, Rhade felt as if _his_ heart was going to be the one that stopped. "How much?" he demanded.

Once again Andromeda seemed to be conferring with her other self. "It's hard to say," she said after a few seconds. "It could be nothing more than minor memory loss of the moments right before her injuries or it could be far more serious. We won't know for sure until she regains consciousness."

Rhade's bone blades sprang erect. First Jillian and the children, then Louisa, and now Jeri. Someone was going to pay dearly for this. Dimly through the fog of rage he heard Andromeda calling out to him.

"Rhade. Rhade! RHADE! Listen to me." As Rhade struggled get his feelings under control, Andromeda continued. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that Jeri will make a full recovery—she might not. But I'm optimistic."

The killing rage that had threatened to take over Rhade subsided. He reached down and placed his hand on Jeri's hip. As he did so she stirred restlessly.

"You need to leave," said Andromeda. "She senses your presence and is trying to find you."

Reluctantly Rhade removed his hand. "You're sure she'll recover?" he asked.

Andromeda gave Rhade a brief smile "Sure? No, but if I was a betting entity I would bet that by this time next year Jeri will be back to waiting tables in the Oasis and the two of you will be deciding on what names to pick for your children. Now, however, you have to leave. As long as you're here Jeri will continue to try to find you. She needs to rest and so do you. I've contacted Harper and made arrangements for Elaine and the baby to be brought aboard me.

"There's nothing you can do for Jeri right now, so why don't you get some rest? I had some of my Marias prepare your old stateroom. I'll call you if her condition changes for the worse."

She opened the door, and Rhade, with one last look at Jeri, left for his quarters.


	4. Chapter 4

Rhade awoke somewhat disoriented. It had been a long time since he had slept in his quarters on Andromeda. No sooner had he oriented himself than Andromeda's image appeared in the room's viewscreen.

"She's doing as well as can be expected," said Andromeda, answering Rhade's question before he could ask it. "I brought Elaine and the baby aboard me last night while you were sleeping. They're in the operations officer's stateroom. You really should talk to her. I have clean clothes for you in your closet. I'll send a Maria with your breakfast while you clean up."

The clothes turned out to be one of his old High Guard uniforms. Rhade put it on almost reluctantly. It had been a long time since he had worn one, and a great number of his actions since he had last worn one were not in the best High Guard traditions. Clean and dressed, he left his stateroom to speak with Elaine.

Andromeda's holographic self was waiting for him at the entrance to Elaine's stateroom. "I let her know you're on your way," she said. "She's expecting you."

The door to the stateroom opened, and Andromeda winked out of sight.

Rhade stood mute and motionless in the doorway. What could he say?

It was Elaine who broke the silence. "Come in, Rhade, and sit down," she said, pointing to one of the chairs in the stateroom.

Rhade took the indicated seat but remained silent, completely at a loss for words. Jeri was his mate. It had been his duty to protect her, and he had failed in that duty. He tried and failed to meet Elaine's eyes.

Elaine rolled her wheelchair up to Rhade and took his hands in hers. "Look at me Rhade," she said. Her voice was commanding but not accusative. Rhade forced himself to meet her eyes. He expected to see anger, scorn maybe even hatred but none of those emotions were there . There was only sadness and perhaps sympathy. "It wasn't your fault," she said gently. "It wasn't your fault."

Rhade pulled his hands free from Elaine's grasp. "I should have seen trouble coming," he said. "I should have sent someone to the bar to walk her home."

"There was no way you could have known in advance about the demonstration. And what would you have done if you had known? Break it up? How would you have done that? You have, what, fifteen men and women working for you? What would you have done, open fire on the crowd yourself? Or would you have waded in and beaten the protesters into submission? If you had tried that, you and your men would be the ones in the surgery right now, not Jeri. It was the Black and Tans that started the panic. They're the ones you should be turning your anger at, not yourself."

"Still, I should have expected the Association would want to stir something up. I've been hearing rumors."

Elaine shook her head in disagreement. "Rumors, yes. Facts, no. We've all been hearing rumors. Rumors drift through Seefra City like the grit from the mines. The demonstration was going to happen; it was just a matter of when and where. It could have been two days or two weeks from now. The east plaza, west plaza, the tailing's area, the north gate… There have been demonstrations at all of those places. You and your men can't be everywhere all the time. You did the best you could. We can't ask for anything more than that."

"It wasn't good enough."

"Rhade, stop it," Elaine commanded almost shouting. This time there was some anger in her voice. " This is no time for you to be wallowing in self accusation. Stop berating yourself with could haves and should haves. The Black and Tans were the ones who opened fire on the crowd, not you and your men. There was nothing you could have done to protect Jeri once she decided to leave the Oasis without you or one of your deputies escorting her."

Rhade raised his hand and mimicked firing a pistol. "Maybe so, but I can do something to make sure they never hurt her again."

Elaine nodded in understanding. "Of course you want to hurt them. It's only natural."

"Because I'm a Nietzschean?"

"No, because you're a man. Your mate and unborn child were injured by the Black and Tans. You want to hurt them in return."

"My what?!" Rhade nearly fell out of his chair "What did you say? My child?"

"Your unborn child," repeated Elaine. "Jeri was planning to tell you on your next night off. You want to hurt the company police in return for hurting Jeri. But the police are like tokigets," she said, referring to the Seefran analog of a Gila monster. She made a chopping motion with her hand. "Killing the company police, even if you killed all of them, would be like cutting off the tail of a tokiget."

"I don't understand," said Rhade, still a bit dazed by the announcement that Jeri was carrying his child.

"What happens when a tokiget loses its tail?" prodded Elaine.

"It grows another one," answered Rhade. Comprehension dawned. "I understand. No matter how many I killed, the company would simply hire more. I need to cut off the head."

And where is the head, Rhade? Not north-side. They're all hirelings, as well. The board of directors? Even if you could get to them, the stockholders would elect new ones." She gave Rhade a brief but sad smile. "I suspect your people have a saying about situations such as this. Something like 'don't waste your ammunition on the wrong target.'"

"It's 'pick your targets wisely.' But, if you don't think I should go after the Black and Tans, then what would you have me do, matri—?" He stopped himself from saying 'matriarch.' "Elaine."

Elaine caught what he almost said. "I'm not your matriarch, Rhade. I'm just a foolish schoolteacher who thought she could make a difference in the lives of the children living in south-side. As for what you should do, go back to Seefra. There's nothing you can do here to help Jeri. She, the baby, and I will be safe here aboard the Andromeda. Go back to Seefra and try to keep things from getting totally out of control. You know there will be hotheads howling for blood. That's probably what the Association is hoping for. And, try to find out why the company police opened fire on the crowd. They're thugs, but they've never used lethal ammunition so indiscriminately before. Maybe finding out why they did will give you some insight as to who you should be hunting."

"You're asking me to solve a crime?"

"You're the sheriff, aren't you? Who else do we have to do it?"

.


	5. Chapter 5

It was early evening and Rhade was sitting at his favorite table in the Oasis, restlessly playing with a half empty bottle of beer. He wasn't interested in drinking—he was waiting. Ever since the shooting and his talk with Elaine, the bar had become his de facto office and the meeting place for his deputies. He was currently waiting for a pair of his deputies to report in.

It was just over three weeks since the shooting at the plaza, and his investigation was not going well. He and his deputies had interviewed as many survivors of the incident as they could, and their accounts—while differing in exact details—had confirmed what he had suspected ever since Moretti described what he had observed when he had arrived at the scene and saw the Black and Tans treating their wounded. Someone had opened fire on the company police first. More importantly, though, Rhade had established that the shots that had instigated the Black and Tans' retaliation had not come from the crowd. Both policemen that the deputy had seen had been shot from someone on their left. If the shots had originated from the crowd, they would have been shot from the front. He had also learned, thanks to a north-side hospital technician with a penchant for pillow talk and a civic minded south-side girl, that the policemen had been shot with a 10 mm rifle firing hollow point rounds. Unfortunately, the knowledge did very little to help determine who fired the shots. Probably everyone in south-side had a motive, and 10 mm rifles, while not exactly common, were not particularly scarce either.

Neither the company nor Virgil Vox was making things any easier. In Rhade's opinion, the broadcaster was nothing more than a rabble-rouser. Initially after the shooting and using the fact that Jeri had been injured, he had been broadcasting calls to arms against the company and speculations about what sort of vengeance Rhade would wreak amongst the Black and Tans. Then, once it became public knowledge that someone had shot a couple of the policemen, Vox had practically deified the individual, completely ignoring the fact that as a direct result of that individual's actions, 18 people had been killed and another 43 injured.

The company for its part was stating that the Black and Tans had acted in self-defense and, that given the provocation, deadly force had been an appropriate response. It further stated that since the crowd had been an unlawful assembly, none of the families of the deceased would receive any form of death benefits, that the wounded would not be allowed to seek treatment in company medical facilities, and that any of the 'rioters,' to use the company's term, who could be identified would be immediately discharged from the company.

"You look worried, Sheriff," came a voice from behind him. "Are your men late in reporting?"

"I'm more worried about what they'll be reporting about when they get here, Orlund," answered Rhade, recognizing the voice. "Collins said it was important."

Orlund had become a permanent fixture in the bar. He said he had lost one princess, and he wasn't going to lose another. Fortunately for his well-being, he had stopped talking about hidden tunnels and lost races, and Doyle in return wasn't marching him out the door.

Rhade spared a moment to look around the bar. It was about half full, but there was a subdued tone to the noise and activities of the patrons. Trance was waiting tables while Doyle was with Harper behind the counter. Harper had an arm around Doyle's waist, and Doyle seemed in no hurry to remove it. It was, Rhade supposed, a classic example of be careful of what you wish for as you might get it. At one time he had concerned himself with finding mates for the two of them. He no longer had that concern, and it had only taken a massacre to get them together.

Rhade's musings were interrupted by the arrival of Collins and his partner O'Keeffe. They had a third man held between them. From the way he was standing and the way his deputies were holding him, Rhade guessed that his hands were tied behind his back. Rhade recognized the man, a petty thief that he and his deputies had run out of the market area. Behind them were two more of Rhade's deputies. One of them, a blonde, green-eyed Amazon of a woman with the unlikely name of Cho Hee Soklol, was carrying a rifle.

"We got our shooter, Sheriff," said Collins as he pushed the prisoner, who Rhade now remembered was named Ford, toward Rhade.

The entire bar went silent as all eyes turned in the direction of the prisoner. Under other circumstances, Ford might have looked imposing or even threatening. He was a large man, well-muscled, with a shaven head and a scar running from his just above his left eye to his lower jaw. However, at the moment he looked more like a cornered rat.

"How did you find him?" asked Rhade.

It was O'Keeffe who answered. "Me and Collins here been hanging out in The Dog's Breakfast lately when we weren't on duty. You know the place."

Rhade did. It was a bar on the opposite side of town from The Oasis. Its clientele was mostly ex-employees of the company. It was just the sort of place to find someone willing to kill a few company policemen.

"Anyway," continued O'Keeffe, "we started hanging out there and griping 'bout how you weren't doing nothing 'bout the Tans killing all them people and 'bout how somebody needed to do something 'bout the Tans. After a while the regulars stopped shutting up when we came in for a few drinks. Then day 'fore yesterday, Ford here," he gave the prisoner another shove when he said 'here,' "came into the bar. He was spending script like he owned a printing press, and after a few drinks started bragging 'bout how he fixed some Tans. It seemed funny to us, so we talked to Cho Hee and Juarez and decided that next time Ford came into the Breakfast, they would take a look at his place and see what they could find. They found a ten mike mike rifle loaded with hollow points. Same as what was used on the Tans."

Rhade reached out for the rifle, which Cho Hee handed to him with a 'careful, the mag's still in the receiver,' and checked it. As Cho Hee had stated, the magazine was still in the receiver. He ejected the magazine and counted the rounds in it. "Twenty-two rounds," he said. "This magazine normally holds twenty five. Three shots were fired at the Tans. Three from twenty-five leaves twenty-two."

"I swear I've never seen that weapon before," stammered Ford. "It must have been planted in my room while I was drinking."

Rhade reloaded the magazine and inserted it into the magazine well. He then jacked a round into the receiver and placed the weapon on the table with its muzzle pointing at Ford's midsection, his hand on the weapon near the trigger. Juarez, who had been standing directly behind Ford, hurriedly moved to one side. "My mate was injured in the plaza massacre. She may never recover from her injuries. I promised her mother I would find out who hurt her and make him pay. You say you've never seen this weapon before. In that case, you won't have any objection if I have it tested for DNA residues. You know I have access to the resources. I'm going to give you one last chance to speak before I take the weapon to be tested. If none of your DNA is on the weapon, you'll be in the clear, but if it turns out that you've lied to me…" He left the threat unspoken, allowing Ford's imagination to conjure up whatever form of torture he feared most.

Rhade wasn't exactly bluffing, but he wasn't telling the strict truth either. He could get the DNA checked using Andromeda's medical facilities, but he would have to get the weapon to Andromeda first. And Dylan had made it clear on Rhade's last visit to Andromeda that Andromeda's daughter space craft were not at Rhade's beck and call. The majority of the town's population thought otherwise, however. With the arrival of Andromeda's medevac vessel, rumors flew thick and fast—even for Seefra City. The majority of the rumors consisted of speculation on how much of Rhade's supposed military unit had survived the battle and what his position in the unit had been.

Rhade's bluff worked. Ford broke. A dark stain appeared on the front of his pants. "You know how hard it is to make a living here," said Ford. "I needed money. Some members of the Association gave me the weapon and told me there would be money in it for me if I killed some Tans. They said that they would even make it easy for me by bringing them out to where I could have a shot at them. I didn't know that they would start shooting at the protesters and hurt your woman. I swear I didn't know."

There were some murmurs of surprise throughout the bar when Ford mentioned that the Association had hired him.

"Who were they?" demanded Collins before Rhade could ask the question.

"I don't know," said Ford, practically crying in fear. "They called themselves Bob and Jim. I've seen their faces before, but that's all."

"You should have stuck to thievery," said Rhade. "You're lucky to still be alive. If I'd been in their place, I would have killed you immediately after you shot those Tans to ensure you didn't do any talking." He looked at Collins and O'Keeffe. "Cut his hands loose and let him go."

"You're letting him go?!" exclaimed Juarez, who up to this point had been silent.

"I'm letting him go," said Rhade. He turned his attention to Ford, who was rubbing his wrists and looking like the condemned man who had just been given a pardon. "I'm letting you go, but I'm not giving you any protection. Your only chance to live is to leave town. You might survive the desert, but if you stay here you're a dead man."

The look on Ford's face changed from hope back to fear as he realized that Rhade had just placed a target on him. He bolted out the door. After a minute or so, a number of the bar's patrons got up from their tables and went out the door as well.


	6. Chapter 6

"And on a final note, the body of one Robert Ford was found recently. Mr. Ford had been shot eighteen times. Additionally, the bodies of several ex-company employees were found with their hands bound and killed by a single shot through the back of their heads. The individuals in question were all suspected members of the Association. It would seem our sheriff has been busy lately. While I applaud his efforts to remove the cancer in our midst, why hasn't he moved against the Black and Tans? Is he afraid of them—or is it something more sinister? This is Virgil Vox bringing you the news the company doesn't want you to hear, signing off."

"What a load of crap," exclaimed Jeri. "You and your deputies are the only ones in Seefra City who will stand up to the Tans. Or has he forgotten how many times you've forced them to behave in a civilized manner when they were doing business in south-side. They're the ones afraid of you. And anyone who knows you would know you're not the kind of person to kill someone in cold blood, like those Association members were."

Thanks to Andromeda's medical efforts, Jeri had recovered from the worst of her injuries and was now staying in Rhade's stateroom while she finished her recovery. Rhade had talked Beka into giving him a ride to Andromeda when she had last dropped by the Oasis. Beka had been pleased enough to hear that Jeri was recovering that she hadn't charged him for the trip. Earlier Andromeda had offered to send down a slip fighter so he could visit on a regular basis, but Rhade had declined. He didn't want to give Dylan an excuse to quite literally ground him. But after nearly four weeks without Jeri, Rhade would have walked to Andromeda. He and Jeri had communicated via radio, but since Dylan had moved Andromeda out of near Seefra orbit and into the system's Oort cloud, the time lag was between Rhade's 'how are you's and Jeri's 'I'm fine's had been hours.

"There are times I wish the company police would find his transmitter and shut him down," admitted Rhade. "He seems more interested in stirring up trouble than in reporting news." He deliberately refrained from commenting on the killings. He was sure that Ford hadn't been killed by any of his deputies, but he wasn't so sure about the Association members. He wouldn't shed any tears for the dead men if they were the ones who had paid Ford, but he couldn't have his people killing people just because they were associated with the Association.

"I used to think he was a gallant warrior fighting a lonely battle against the company," said Jeri. "Now I just wish he would go away. He seems determined to make a bad situation worse." She sat up a little straighter in her bed and focused her eyes on Rhade's. "Rhade, do you remember the first morning you spent with us, and how you said that it didn't matter which one proposed as long as everyone was properly married before the baby arrived? Well, one of us needs to propose."

"You're pregnant?!" exclaimed Rhade. He already knew thanks to his conversation with Elaine, but he also knew from his previous marriage how important it was for the woman to be the one to let her spouse know about the pregnancy, so he feigned surprise. "Are we having a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know. When your ship told me and asked if I wanted to know the sex, I said no. I want it to be a surprise."

Andromeda's holographic self appeared in the stateroom. "I'm still not going to tell you if it's a boy or a girl, but I will tell you that you need to pick out more than one name."

"Twins?" asked Rhade and Jeri simultaneously.

"Twins," agreed Andromeda, obviously pleased by the other two's reaction.

"I guess we should start letting people know we're getting married," said Rhade.

Andromeda's core self appeared in the stateroom's viewscreen. "Actually, under Seefra common law, the two of you are already married."

"What do you mean—?" began Rhade.

"We're already married?" asked Jeri, finishing the question.

"Finishing each other's sentences," said holo Andromeda to her sister self. "They're definitely married."

"They are," agreed her core self. "Seefran law states that if a man and woman live together for an extended period of time and take on all the duties and responsibilities of husband and wife, then they are considered legally married. The two of you have been together for several months now, Rhade has taken over the responsibilities of a father for Samuel, and you have another child on the way. Since the term 'an extended period' is never clearly defined, I would say the two of you are married under Seefra law. And, as the Systems Commonwealth recognizes the validity of marriages performed outside the Commonwealth, the two of you are married under Commonwealth law as well. However, there's no reason you can't have a formal ceremony with friends and family attending."

"Provided Jeri lets us be her bridesmaids," put in holo Andromeda.

"Exactly," said her sister self. "Rhade, I assume you will be sponsoring Jeri for High Guard spousal privileges and adopting Samuel." Taking Rhade's stunned silence for assent, Andromeda continued, "I have the sponsorship and adoption documents prepared. The two of you just need to sign them. Congratulations to the two of you and welcome to the family Mrs. Rhade."

Andromeda's two incarnations disappeared from view, leaving the two suddenly newlyweds alone in the stateroom. After a moment, Jeri gave Rhade a look that should have triggered Andromeda's fire suppression system. "Rhade," said Jeri in a come-hither voice. "If we're married, we need to consummate our union. Andromeda told me that as long as I was careful, I could do anything I did before I was injured. Like this." She leaned forward and reached for the fastener of Rhade's pants.


	7. Chapter 7

Several hours later Rhade was outside the entrance to Elaine's stateroom. Andromeda had informed him that there were some issues concerning the situation on Seefra she and Elaine wished to discuss with him.

After Rhade and Jeri had finished consummating—or re-consummating depending on your point of view—their marriage, Andromeda had appeared and asked Rhade if he would help Dylan with some repairs. Somewhat reluctantly, Rhade had agreed. Dylan had been delighted when Rhade had offered to assist with the repairs, but it quickly became apparent that Dylan was only interested in Rhade's help with Andromeda and nothing else. When Rhade informed Dylan that Andromeda had given Jeri a clean bill of health, Dylan's response had been a distracted, "That's nice. Hand me the flux density reader." Rhade's comment that Harper and Doyle were now an item and were considering starting a family was met with nothing more than an offhand, "Really?" It had been a relief when Dylan had declared the repair job finished, and Andromeda's core self had announced that Elaine wished to speak with Rhade in her stateroom.

When Rhade entered the room he saw Elaine sitting in her wheelchair reading from a flexie. Jeri was feeding Samuel. The baby was learning to eat solid food, but his idea of eating his food seemed to have become confused with _wearing_ his food. Rhade cleared his throat, and both women looked up and smiled. Then, to his complete astonishment, Elaine stood up and walked slowly toward him. When his mind recovered from the shock, he realized she was wearing the lower half of a Lancer exoskeleton.

"The machine is doing the walking; I'm just going along for the ride," explained Elaine, seeing Rhade's look of shock. She reached back and placed a hand between her shoulder blades. "There's a device back there that reads the commands my brain sends out to my legs and tells these," she pointed to the exoskeleton, "what they should be doing. It's not like real walking, but it's better than sitting in a wheelchair." She waved her hand through the air. "This vessel is amazing. It's like I'm living in an enchanted castle from a fairytale."

Andromeda's holographic self manifested herself in the room. "Rhade can assure you I'm not a figment out of a fairytale."

"Andromeda and I have had quite a talk," continued Elaine. "She told me about her battle with—what did she call it?—the Worldship and the Spirit of the Abyss, and how you were all somehow transported here." A wry smile came over her face for just an instant. "It's a good thing you didn't tell me about this when we first met. I wouldn't have believed a word of it."

It was Rhade's turn for a wry smile. "That's why I didn't tell you."

"You've all done well for yourselves since you arrived," said Elaine as she settled back into her chair. "All except for your captain. Andromeda tells me that he almost never leaves this vessel."

"Would you abandon Jeri, just because she was injured?" asked Rhade.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Elaine "The very idea is outrageous. But there's no one else aboard…" Realization dawned and a look of embarrassment came over her face. She turned her head toward Andromeda. "Oh, Andromeda." She looked back to Rhade, who had now been joined by Jeri and Samuel, then turned her attention back to Andromeda. "Rhade, your captain... and Jeri has told me how well Harper treats Doyle. Andromeda, are all the men in your Commonwealth so devoted to their womenfolk, and if so how can we import some more of them?"

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had ever met Beka's brother Rafe," answered Andromeda's holographic self. "I could tell you things about him. Like the time—"

Whatever Andromeda was going to say about Rafe was interrupted when her sister-self appeared in the room's viewscreen. "Can we have this conversation on men some other time? There are some things we need to discuss with Rhade." She then fixed her gaze on Rhade. "Elaine's correct," she said. "You have done well. I'm proud of you, Rhade. Proud of Harper, Beka, and Trance as well. You've all done well here on Seefra. You and Harper have families, and you're all respected members of the community. You were cast unprepared into this place and managed to not only survive, but to prosper. But what will you do if Seefra becomes accessible to the rest of the universe? You know Dylan will want to continue the battle with the Spirit of the Abyss and the Collectors. Will you and the others be with him?"

Three more pairs of eyes turned toward Rhade. Jeri's arm that was not holding Samuel tightened almost painfully around his waist. "I'll be aboard you," stated Rhade. "Sooner or later the Spirit of the Abyss will come for Seefra. I'd rather face it and the Magog somewhere else than at my home. I expect the others will feel the same."

There was a palpable easing of tension in the room. Elaine sat back in her chair and indicated that the others should sit down as well. Rhade moved an available chair over to where Jeri had been sitting. Jeri in turn handed him Samuel.

"Andromeda has been helping me with some research," said Elaine. Her voice changed, becoming excited—almost exhilarated. "There's so much that I never even dreamed existed. Things that aren't mentioned in our histories. The Commonwealth. The other species. It's as if I had been blind from birth, and then suddenly been given the gift of sight. Science. Technology. Why—"

"Mother," said Jeri, interrupting her mother and using the pronunciation that daughters have been using since the dawn of time when they feel embarrassed by their mother's actions. "The umwa."

Elaine stopped, giving her daughter a look that also dated back from the dawn of time. "I digress," she said in a calmer tone of voice. "Andromeda has an enormous amount of data on the history of your—_our_—species, dating back to well before we were contacted by the old Commonwealth. It's hard to separate myth and legend from the actual history of the times, but there are frequent references dating back to the pre-atomic era about a group of warriors known as the umwa and their battles with corporate landlords. The parallels aren't exact, but they are strikingly similar to our situation here in Seefra City."

"The umwa?" mumbled Rhade as he moved Samuel's hand. The baby had been busy trying to see how many of his fingers he could put in his step-father's mouth. "I'm afraid history has never been my strong point, much less ancient history and Earth mythology."

"The umwa," repeated Elaine. "Andromeda tells me that her records are a translation of an ancient Earth language called English and that the pronunciation would have been something like You...Emm ..Double you ...A".


	8. Chapter 8

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Jeri, looking at the verdant pink and red colors of the Seefran sunset.

"Very," answered Rhade, slipping his arm around Jeri's shoulders.

Jeri and Rhade were sitting on the roof of their house watching the sun set behind the mountains and enjoying one of Rhade's few nights off. Andromeda had decided that Jeri was healed enough to go home and had sent them back to Seefra City. It had been a good news/bad news sort of departure. The good news had been that Jeri's unborn babies were none the worse for their mother's injuries. The bad news was that Jeri had indeed suffered brain damage and was now prone to seizures. Fortunately, there were medicines available in Seefra City that could, if not eliminate the seizures, at least reduce the frequency and severity of their occurrences.

"Mother says that she thinks this area is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. That it's a wild beauty, but it's beautiful nonetheless. She says when she first arrived here she thought the area was a desolate wasteland, but now that she's lived here, she wouldn't leave it even if she could. What do you think?"

"I think your mother is right," answered Rhade. "Tarazed is beautiful, but it's a well-manicured sort of beauty. This is different."

"Do you think it will work?" asked Jeri. "The umwa? The union?"

Rhade shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he admitted. "The umwa lost every pitched battle they engaged in."

Jeri turned so that she was looking at Rhade rather than into the distance. "But in the end they won," she said. "They made it too expensive for the landholders to fight and still make a profit. We don't need to fight a war. We just need to make the company realize that it will cost them more to fight us than to give us what we want." She changed the subject slightly. "The land here is so fertile. I've heard the farmers in the market talking. They swear that with proper irrigation if they were planting by the time they planted the second seed, the first one would have sprouted. Andromeda says there are even places here where we could raise herds of cattle. And the mines would be a good source of jobs if the company would pay a living wage. Seerfa City could be a good place to live, Rhade. We just need to make it one."

Whatever else she was planning to say was interrupted by Rhade's kiss. "Then that's what we'll have to do," said Rhade when they came up for air. "We'll make it one."


	9. Chapter 9

**Civic Obligations Part 2 **

.

"OK, that's it," said Harper to the crowd of people sitting in the bar listening to him talk. "If you're interested in joining the umwa, see one of the girls after last call," he waved a hand to indicate Jeri, Trance, and Doyle, who were busy working the tables, picking up empties, and taking orders, "and let them know. They'll take your name and later you'll be contacted by a recruiter who'll give you more details on the organization. That's when you can decide if you want to join up and that way the company won't know if you joined up or not."

It had been roughly two months since Rhade had brought Jeri and Elaine back from the Andromeda. During those months, Rhade had spent the majority of his time attempting to suppress Association activities and wheedling equipment for his deputies from the vendors in the market area. Elaine, for her part, had become the voice of the umwa. Many of the miners and their spouses remembered her from her days as a teacher, and her house, somewhat to Rhade's consternation, had become an umwa meeting site. Fortunately for Rhade's mental health, the house soon became too small for the number of attendees and Elaine decided it was time to move the meetings to a larger location. Harper, after some prodding by Rhade, had volunteered not only the use of his bar but to also be the one to pitch the union.

"I see what's in it for the guys working the mines," said Juarez, "but what's in it for folks like me who don't work the mines?" He, O'Keeffe, and Cho Hee were working the night shift, and Rhade had told them to keep an eye on things at the Oasis while Harper was giving his talk. Somewhere in the midst of Harper's presentation, Juarez had started paying attention to Harper instead of the bar's patrons.

"How does a pay raise sound?" responded Harper. "If the miners get more pay, they have more to spend. The merchants who pay you get more customers, so they can afford give you a raise. And once they start getting paid in sols instead of script, the merchants can start buying goods directly instead of through the company. That means they won't have to exchange script for sols at company exchange rates. They won't have to pay as much for their goods, so they can afford to sell them to you for less."

"That's a lot of assumptions," said Juarez, looking doubtful.

"You will also get a chance to strike a blow at the corporate oppressors," added Orlund, who had become an enthusiastic supporter of, as he called it, 'the new movement.'

"I'll be able to do what?" asked Juarez.

"I think he said you'll get a chance to kick some Tan butt," said Cho Hee.

"Why didn't you just say that?" asked Juarez, giving Orlund an irritated look. He turned back to Harper. "Is the sheriff in on this?"

"He's the one who talked me into it," said Harper. "In fact, he and Jeri's mother—"

"Yevi crap," came a man's voice from one of the tables, interrupting Harper's explanation. "You've been feeding us nothing but mother loving yevi crap."

All eyes turned to the individual, who was now standing up, still with drink in hand, and had taken a position in the center of the barroom floor. Harper didn't recognize him, but there was a set of heavy miner's gloves on the table where he had been sitting. There was also a suspicious bulge under the man's serape. Harper reached below the counter to make sure his fléchette gun was within easy reach.

"This umwa talk is nothing but a bunch of yevi crap!" repeated the miner. "The Association knows what's what. The only thing the company understands is force."

"Like the plaza massacre?" asked Orlund from his seat. "One of my princesses nearly died there thanks to the Association."

"Your princess is nothing but a whore," said the miner. "And not a good one at that. I've done her myself."

Orlund didn't have a reputation as a fighter, but this was mostly because when Doyle asked him to leave the premises, he left quietly. The miner, however, wasn't Doyle, and he had just insulted someone Orlund considered his duty to protect. "Outside. Now." He practically snarled the words as he got up from his seat.

The miner's response to Orlund's challenge was to throw his drink in Orlund's face. Then, as Orlund was partially blinded, he grasped his shirt and pulled him forward. He smashed his forehead into Orlunds face while at the same time bringing his knee several times up into his groin. Orlund collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain.

Doyle began to move toward the miner only to stop as he reached under his serape, pulled out a handgun, and aimed it at her. An instant later, Cho Hee, O'Keeffe, and Juarez had drawn their weapons, and Harper had retrieved his fléchette gun from under the counter. The entire bar turned silent, stunned by the explosion of violence.

The silence was broken by the sound of a click as Harper thumbed the fléchette gun's safety to the fire position. "I've loaded this baby with scmitr rounds," he said. "At this range, the blades will be a nice tight grouping when they hit you. They'll slice your insides up like sausage. So unless you want to be converted into enyet food, drop your weapon."

"You might get me, but not before I get your woman," said the miner, still pointing his weapon at Doyle's midsection.

The standoff came to an end from an unexpected source. The miner had been so focused on Harper and the others that he had forgotten about Jeri and Trance. There was a sound of breaking glass followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Jeri and Trance, still holding the remains of the beer bottles they had broken over the miner's head, gave each other a high-five, then went back to picking up empties.

Doyle looked down at the unconscious miner, then back to Harper, who was putting his fléchette gun back under the counter. "I told you someone would start trouble once you started talking. It looks like you owe me a foot massage after we close down."

"What do we do with him now?" asked Juarez, giving the unconscious miner a prod with his boot.

"Remove his pants," said Orlund, who was now sitting up but grimacing in pain, blood dribbling from his nose.

Juarez gave him a blank look. "Huh? Why?"

"Take his pants off, then carry him outside," repeated Orlund. "For his type, being laughed at is intolerable. To be defeated by the woman he insulted and then cast outside pants-less will be worse than if you killed him."

A number of patrons rushed up to follow Orlund's suggestion, while others stuffed Jeri and Trance's tip jars with company script.

"I like your style," said Cho Hee as she helped Orlund to his feet. "Why don't we go back to your table an' you can let me buy you a drink." When Doyle came by to take their orders, she told her, "Give him whatever he was drinking earlier. An' give me one, too."

Doyle nodded an affirmative. "Just don't let him get started on his secret tunnels." She closed her eyes and grimaced as she realized she had just opened up the subject.

At Cho Hee's quizzical look, Doyle gave a quick explanation of Orlund's history, deliberately cutting him off before he could start what she knew from experience would be a long and rambling explanation. Somewhat to both her and Orlund's surprise, Cho Hee listened attentively to Doyle's explanation.

As soon as Doyle left to fill their orders, Cho Hee moved her chair a bit closer to Orlund's. "When you were in the tunnels, did you see any writing?" she asked in a near whisper, obviously not wanting the conversation to be overheard.

"Writing?" asked Orlund. Not only was he confused by the question, he was astonished that Cho Hee was taking him seriously.

Cho Hee reached up and removed a strip of leather that had been looped around her neck. Dangling from the loop was a disc about the diameter of a child's fist. "Like this," she said, handing Orlund the object.

Orlund took the proffered object. It was made of a blue-green material that had a metallic sheen to it. It was surprisingly heavy. On one side of the disk was the worn image of what was possibly a man's face. On the other side were some symbols that could have been writing or simply decoration. There was a loop of the same blue-green material on the edge of the item, through which Cho Hee had threaded the leather thong. The disk was apparently some type of medallion.

"I found it about a year ago in the fields when I was helping Da—my stepdad—on his farm. He has some metal plates he found with this same funny writing on 'em. I asked about 'em, an' he didn't know anything about 'em 'cept to tell me it would be best if I didn't tell too many people what I found. I had it with me when the sheriff hired me, so I've been wearing it as a good luck charm."

Orlund handed the medallion back to Cho Hee, who slipped it back around her neck and under her shirt. "Have you thought about showing it to the company?" he asked. "Maybe they could tell you about it."

"More 'an likely they'd just keep if for themselves and never give me any script for it. Eff the company."

Doyle arrived with the drinks at just that moment. "Eff the company," she agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

"Two final pieces of news," came the voice over the radio. "The explosion at the Kimber six site has been investigated, and contrary to initial reports, the explosion was not the result of Association activities. The explosion was caused by the premature detonation of explosives planted for a blasting operation. The detonators installed in the explosives had passed their manufacturer's safety date and were dangerously unstable. My sources tell me that the problem was reported to company management over three months ago, but no corrective action had been taken at the time of the explosion. Secondly, my sources in the capital have informed me that the recent hostilities with Ehime have inspired our government to increase their stockpiles of strategic materials. The company has promised to increase their output by fifteen percent, and that production quotas will be raised accordingly. This is Virgil Vox bringing you the news the company doesn't want you to hear, signing off."

Rhade got up from the pile of cushions he had been sprawled on and turned off the radio. This was his first day off in over two weeks, and he didn't want to have anything even remotely work-related intruding. Jeri had the day off as well. As a reward for their dealing with the belligerent miner two days earlier, Harper had given Jeri and Trance each a day off. Today was Jeri's. At present she was in the kitchen area with her mother preparing lunch. After lunch, Elaine had promised to watch Samuel while Rhade took Jeri to the market to do some shopping. There was an open air café that had opened in the market district, and he had promised Jeri that they would have dinner there. Jeri in turn had made some promises of her own to be fulfilled later that evening, promises of a much more intimate nature.

Rhade's visions of domestic bliss abruptly evaporated when the two-way lying near the pile of cushions crackled to life, and Cho Hee's voice emanated from the speaker. "Sheriff, this is Cho Hee. I'm with Juarez and Morgan. We need your help in the market area. The Tans're conducting a sweep, an' it looks like they're looking for trouble."

Rhade suppressed an obscenity and keyed the two-way's transmitter. "Cho Hee, this is Rhade. How many of them are there? Over."

"Two full squads, sir."

"Cho Hee, this is Rhade. I understand. Two full squads. I am on the way. I will request backup for you. Rhade out."

Rhade keyed the transmitter one more time. "All personnel, this is Rhade. This is a Code Orange. Repeat, Code Orange. All personnel assemble at the market pavilion. I say again, this is a Code Orange. All personnel assemble at the market pavilion. Rhade out."

Rhade removed his equipment belt from a wall hook, checked to ensure his force lance was charged, and slipped the two-way into its slot on the belt. He was going to have to tell Jeri that their day off had just been canceled.

Jeri and Elaine had stopped their meal preparations and were looking in his direction. There was a forced looking smile on Jeri's face. "We heard the conversation," she said, walking toward him. "I guess this means you won't be here for lunch." She wiped her hands on her apron, her hands passing over the now obvious bulge in her midsection, and reached out to give him a hug. "Be careful. It's been a while since the Tans made a market sweep, and never two full squads of them. It's like they're trying to provoke a response from you."

Rhade gathered Jeri up in his arms and gave her a kiss. "Most likely it's nothing more than a show of force," he said, trying to sound more confident than he really felt. "The company probably feels the need to make a statement that they're still in charge of south-side."

"I'm sure you're right," said Elaine as Jeri disentangled herself from Rhade. The tone of her voice indicated that she didn't believe a word she was saying. "But please be careful."

Rhade headed for the market area at a pace that was not quite a run. As he walked, he was joined by the rest of his deputies They joined in ones and twos, some only half-dressed, but all were armed and all of them looked nearly as worried as Jeri had been earlier. The streets were strangely deserted, even by mid-day standards. What few bystanders he saw hurried to get off the streets as Rhade and his deputies passed. Rhade suspected that the word of the upcoming confrontation had reached the streets nearly as fast as it had reached him. Two squads meant 26 men. That was as many men and women as he had on his entire force. The presence of such a large number of Tans was puzzling. With the Association broadening its attacks on both the company and members of umwa, Rhade and his deputies and the Tans had come to an uneasy truce with each group concentrating on protecting their respective side of town.

Rhade's musings were interrupted by Cho Hee's voice once more coming in over the two-way. "Sheriff, it's Cho Hee. We're at Victor's. The Tans're giving him a bad time. Moretti an' Dennic just arrived. Moretti recognizes the leader of the Tans. He's the same one who opened fire on the protestors at the plaza."

This time Rhade didn't suppress the obscenity. As part of his investigation of the plaza massacre, he had learned the name of the man in charge of the Black and Tan squad that had opened fire on the demonstrators. The man's name was Burma, and he wasn't just any company thug, he was the head of the company police. The man was brutal even by Black and Tan standards and enjoyed occasional forays into the streets to keep his hand on daily activities. Such forays invariably resulted in bloodshed. Apparently the informal truce was over.

He realized that the men and women accompanying him were looking in his direction. They had heard Cho Hee's announcement and were waiting for instructions. They all knew Jeri had been injured in the massacre. Some of them had even held her head when she had one of her seizures. Rhade put on what Dylan used to call his 'game face.'. This was no time to let personal feelings get in the way of the job.

"Whitehead, Ganim, O'Keeffe, Collins, break off and approach Victor's from the north side of the market, the rest of us will come in from the south. It's unlikely Burma split off any of his detail to act as sentries. They'd be too likely to be picked off by a south-sider with a grudge. Stay out of sight and wait until I call you or a fight breaks out. All of you, if fighting does break out, try not to kill anyone. The Tans have been staying on their side of town. Let's not give them an excuse to resume patrolling here on our side. Now let's move out before Burma decides he can roll over Cho Hee and the others."


	11. Chapter 11

It didn't take long for Rhade and his deputies to reach Victor's spot in the market. The market area was as empty as the streets had been. Not even the enyets that normally wandered the market looking for scraps were in sight. As they approached the potential battleground Rhade brought their pace down to a slow walk. Not only would it be psychologically advantageous as it gave the appearance he felt confident about his ability to handle the situation, it gave him a bit more time to assess the opposition. He also wanted the Tans looking in his direction and not in the direction from which he had instructed Juarez and the others to approach.

As Cho Hee had said, there were roughly two dozen Tans. They were also tightly bunched together. The walkways in the market were narrow enough to prevent more than four people from walking abreast. All but one of the Tans were carrying rifles and wearing shock wands on their equipment belts. The one outlier was wearing a holstered pistol. Rhade surmised that this was Burma.

Victor—Rhade had no idea if Victor was his first name or last name, but everyone called him Mr. Victor—was one of the company's tenant farmers who sold his surplus food in the market area. Jeri was one of his regular customers. Rhade had conversed with him a time or two while acting as Jeri's pack mule when she was on a shopping expedition. At present he was being held by one of the Black and Tans and looked positively terrified.

Victor's establishment was typical of the farm stands that dotted the market area, consisting of nothing more than several rows of tables bearing baskets filled with the surplus produce of his farm. In front of each basket was a hand-lettered sign proclaiming the price of the basket's contents. There was a scale on one table and near it a partitioned wooden box that was used as a cash holder.

As Rhade brought his force up to join Cho Hee and the others, he moved them all up until they were practically nose to nose with the Tans. This was a tactical decision on his part based on the weapons each side possessed. Rhade's men and women were equipped with pistols and force lances. The force lances had been modified by Andromeda so they functioned strictly as mêlée weapons, but they still retained their shock wand capabilities. And, in the close confines of the market where Rhade and his deputies normally worked, mêlée weapons and pistols were actually more useful than rifles.

"Well, if it isn't the sheriff of south-side," said Burma when Rhade came to a halt. "Here to watch us take care of this deadbeat?"

"Actually," said Rhade, "I'm here to prevent you from making a fool of yourself by breaking company regulations."

Rhade's answer took Burma by surprise. "What do you mean keep me from making a fool of myself?"

"Just that," answered Rhade, attempting to sound as if he was discussing the weather rather than preparing for a street brawl. "Company regulations are quite clear that upon issuance of a delinquency notice, a vendor has three days to either pay up or remove his wares from the marketplace. As you have just now informed Mr. Victor that he is in arrears of his payment, he has three days to pay up before you can take action against him. It would be embarrassing if I had to prevent you from violating your own regulations."

"Please, sir," begged Victor, tears running down his face. Rhade couldn't tell if they were from fear or from pain from the arm lock the Tan had him in. "Give me the three days. I'll have the money. I promise you. I'll be ruined if you destroy my shop."

"You should have thought of that before you forgot to pay for your vendor's license," said Burma. "Go ahead," he said to his men. "We'll make an example of this scumbag. Show the rest of this south-side garbage what happens when they don't keep up with their payments."

As the first Tan approached the tables, Rhade extended his force lance and laid it across the thug's path, blocking his access. "No," said Rhade. "You heard the man. He said he'd have the money."

The Tans stopped and looked toward Burma, awaiting his orders.

"You just made a serious mistake, sheriff," said Burma while moving to the back of his squad. "Take him out, Dulot," he said to the man Rhade had stopped.

It's never a good idea for an unmodified human to engage in close quarters combat with a Nietzschean. It's an even worse idea when the Nietzschean in question is holding an extended force lance and is expecting said human's attack. As the Tan swung the stock of his rifle toward Rhade's head, Rhade shifted his grip on his force lance and brought the staff up horizontally under the approaching rifle. The rifle was deflected over Rhade's head, and the Tan's body was completely exposed. Rhade followed up his block with a kick to the Tan's midsection, sending the thug staggering backwards into the rest of the Tans. Shifting his grip again, Rhade swung his force lance like a club, staggering another Tan, then followed up the strike by thrusting the staff like a spear.

By this time, Rhade's deputies and the Black and Tans were engaged in a general mêlée. With the two sides so closely engaged, Rhade's forces had the advantage. The Tans couldn't bring their rifles to bear as projectile weapons and were forced to use them as unwieldy clubs. Rhade's deputies' force lances on the other hand were admirably suited to such close range work and had the added advantage of being shock wands as well. Only one of the Tans was able to bring his rifle to bear.

Rhade heard the crack of the rifle and out of the corner of his eye saw Cho Hee stagger backwards. Acting on instinct rather than thought, Rhade changed his force lance from shock wand mode to effector mode. The transition was quick, but not quick enough to prevent the Tan from getting off another shot—which completely missed its target. Rhade aimed for the center of the Tan's chest, but just as he was firing, the company thug pivoted to take aim at another one of Rhade's deputies, bringing his arm across his chest as he did so. Both weapons fired almost simultaneously. The Tan's round clipped Dennic's ear while Rhade's round struck the Tan in the hand, causing him to drop his weapon.

And then it was over.

Rhade's reserve element had entered the fray and taken the already engaged Tans completely by surprise. All of the Black and Tans were on the ground either unconscious or moaning in pain.

Rhade rushed over to Cho Hee fearing the worst. To his astonishment, she appeared uninjured. There was a hole in her shirt but no blood. She was also swearing creatively. She smiled when she saw Rhade coming towards her. "I guess my good luck charm helped me out again," she said. She reached down and pulled the medallion from beneath her shirt. There was a bullet-sized dent in it.

Rhade extended a hand to Cho Hee, helping her to her feet. As she got up she grunted in pain. "Dennic," called out Rhade. "Take Cho Hee down to the Oasis and have Doyle look at her. She may have a cracked sternum. And, get your ear taken care of while you're at it. You're dribbling blood on your shirt."

"What about me?" whined the man Rhade had shot. "I need medical attention, too."

"I'd say you won't be using that hand to shoot anyone for quite a while," answered Rhade. "You're lucky you're still alive. I was aiming for your chest."

"Yeah, but what are we going to do with them now?" asked Juarez, waving his force lance at the Black and Tans, who were now wearing their own wrist and leg restraints.

Rhade walked up to a dazed Burma, who was being held upright between two of Rhade's deputies, and raised his force lance. Then very slowly he lowered the weapon. If he killed Burma the residents of south-side would probably start dancing in the streets, and if it had been just him and Burma, the Tan would be dead already. Unfortunately, they weren't alone. Summarily executing Burma would set a bad example for his deputies. He didn't want them running around feeling they had a license to kill anyone they thought needed killing. Sooner or later they would make a mistake and kill someone who should have lived.

Rhade placed the business end of his force lance under Burma's chin and lifted the company enforcer's head up so he could look him in the eye. "I'm feeling generous today," he said. "We're not going to kill you. We're going to confiscate your weapons, then march you through town to north gate. When you get to your headquarters in north-side, you can take a message to your superiors. Tell them the Tans no longer have any business in south-side."


	12. Chapter 12

It was midnight at the Oasis. Except for Harper and Doyle, the bar was deserted. The day had started out in a festive mood with the patrons still celebrating Rhade's victory over the Tans the previous day, but had turned somber when Jeri had one of her seizures. Harper had sent her home, accompanied by Trance and one of Rhade's deputies. With two-thirds of his help gone and the bar in a gloomy mood, Harper had closed early. So, he and Doyle now had cleanup duty alone. The door to the bar was open to catch what little cool breeze was blowing. Harper was behind the counter washing glasses while Doyle was running a broom over the floor. Neither was speaking, but both were enjoying being in the company of the other. Their companionable silence was ruined when Beka stormed into the barroom.

"What the hell are you up to, Harper?" asked Beka as soon as she entered the bar.

"What do you mean what am I up to?" asked Harper as he put down his wash rag. "I haven't been doing anything."

"I mean this umwa thing you've been spouting about," said Beka as she walked up to the counter, completely ignoring Doyle who had stopped sweeping to keep an eye on Beka. "I know you too well. You're up to something. You never get involved unless you see something in it for you. So why are you doing this? What do you expect to get out of it?"

"You're right, Beka," said Harper, annoyed at the unwanted interruption as he moved from behind the counter to pick up some empty glasses sitting on one of the tables. "I do expect to get something out of this. I expect to get a place where I don't have to worry about the company shutting me down on a whim. I expect to get a place where my barmaids can walk home without having to worry about being injured in a riot. I expect to get a place where when Doyle and I have children, they won't live in fear of the company police. That's what I expect to get out of it."

Beka moved so she was blocking Harper's path back to the rear of the bar counter. "Your stupid mudfeet are biting the hand that feeds them," she said. "They should be thanking the company. The company's willing to not just give them a job, but to feed them, give them a place to live, and medical care. And this is how you repay them."

"A slave owner has to give his slaves the same thing, Beka. The company gives the miners everything except freedom."

"They aren't slaves. They can leave any time they want."

"Provided they survive a walk across a hundred kilometers of desert. And even then they'll spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders. The company has gotten the materials we mine listed as strategic assets. Breaking a company contract isn't a civil offense; it's a criminal one, treason. If they're married and take their family with them, their spouse would be considered a criminal as well. Even if they weren't employed by the company.

"Ouray prefecture has some of the toughest mine safety laws on the continent, but Seefra Fuel and Iron has an accidental death rate better than twice that of any other company in the prefecture. The company has the prefecture government in its pocket and is running the mines in a way that would be the envy of the overseer of a Nietzschean slave labor camp."

Harper put the empties on the bar counter and gave Beka a quizzical look as another thought crossed his mind.

"Why do you care anyway?" he asked. "You've never shown much interest in what goes on in south-side before."

"I've heard the talk about how your little operation will bring in more suppliers," said Beka. "I've got a good thing going here bringing in supplies to north-side." Her hand moved to touch her holstered gauss pistol. "I'm not going to let you and your friends screw it up for me by bringing in a bunch of competition."

Noticing where Beka had placed her hand, Doyle put down her broom and came up to stand beside Harper. "You've said enough, Beka," she said. "Why don't you come back tomorrow when you're less upset, and we can talk about this rationally?"

Beka looked Doyle up and down, taking in her work-stained clothing. "If it isn't Harper's animated sex toy showing a little spine. I see he has you earning your keep in another way besides on your back."

Doyle flushed at the insult, but refused to take the bait.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Beka," said Harper, striving to keeping his voice level. He might have been willing to debate politics with Beka, but he wasn't going to tolerate her insulting Doyle.

"I'll leave when I'm ready, mudfoot. Tell me, have you programmed her to make noises like she's enjoying it when you use her?"

"You're ready to leave now, bitch," said Doyle.

Beka's reflexes were fast for a human's, but Doyle was faster. Before Beka could react, Doyle had her in a come-along hold and was marching her out the door. "You really should keep the door shut after closing time," she said to Harper as she pushed Beka out the door and locked it shut. "It keeps the trash out."


	13. Chapter 13

"Come on, Doyle," said Trance from the doorway of the Oasis as she drummed her fingers impatiently on the door frame. "Orlund says the robas are getting restless."

"I'll be there in a minute," answered Doyle. "I want to hear the rest of Virgil's broadcast." She turned her attention back toward the bar's radio to listen to the last of the broadcast.

"…that with the company unable to provide police patrols in the south-side of Seefra City, the company will be closing the north-side gate effective immediately. It would seem our sheriff's altercation with the company police last week has had some unexpected consequences. But, will they be for good or ill? This is Virgil Vox bringing you the news the company doesn't want you to hear, signing off."

With the broadcast concluded, Doyle turned off the radio, took one last look around the bar, checked to make sure her pistol was secure in its holster, and then stepped outside and locked the door to the establishment. Harper had closed the bar for the day to help Rhade make some alterations at Jeri and Elaine's home, ones would make doing household chores easier for the women. By coincidence, Cho Hee had picked that same day to visit her stepfather and make an umwa recruitment pitch to him and some of his neighbors. With the bar closed, Doyle and Trance had volunteered to accompany Cho Hee and Orlund and help with the presentation.

.

Satisfied the bar would be secure until Harper returned, Doyle walked across the hard packed dirt street to the waiting wagon, taking care to avoid getting too close to the pair of robas harnessed to the vehicle. The ox sized draft animals were notoriously bad-tempered and had a bite that could take a man's hand off at the wrist. The beasts had been muzzled, but that didn't give her any feeling of security. She had seen an enraged roba snap its muzzle and take a chunk out of its handler's arm. There was a saying among the residents of Seefra City that you could tell how many years a wrangler had been handling robas by counting the number of fingers they were missing.

Animal drawn transport was the norm for Seefra City. Motorized vehicles were rare in north-side and non-existent in south-side. The company claimed that it was too expensive to import fuel into the city. The residents of south-side had another explanation. Motorized vehicles would make it too easy for people to leave Seefra City. Orlund's wagon was one of the company ore wagons. Doyle decided she wasn't going to ask what Orlund and Cho Hee were doing with company property. Considering that Cho Hee was one of Rhade's deputies, the answer might be embarrassing for all concerned.

Orlund reached down from his position on the driver's side of the wagon to assist Doyle into the vehicle. Doyle clambered into the cargo section of the wagon and settled down beside Trance, who was sitting on several cushions she had taken from the bar's stools. The massive wagons were designed to haul cargo, not people, and the only seat was the driver's bench.

"What did Virgil have to say?" asked Trance when Doyle sat down.

Doyle filled the others in on the last part of Virgil's broadcast.

"It seems that the company is trying to squeeze the merchants in south-side by reducing their number of customers," said Orlund.

"Won't work if that's what they're trying," said Cho Hee. "Most of the north-siders who come this way work in the mines, not over in north-side. They'll just come straight over here from the mines when their shift's done."

She turned to look at Doyle.

"Sounds to me like it'll be a good opportunity for some folks to make some extra script. There's going to be a bunch of workers that'll just decide to spend the night in south-side if they can't cross over from north-side. They're going to need some place to spend the night. Maybe you an' your man should consider renting out space in the bar after last call as sleeping space."

Doyle shrugged her shoulders. "I'll mention it to him," she said. "We could use the extra script, but I'm not too sure how interested he'll be in the extra work it would entail."

"Well, I think Virgil is nothing more than a troublemaker," said Trance. "He's always making innuendos and trying to make things look worse than they really are."

"That's why I listen to him," said Doyle. "To try to determine what sort of trouble he's going to be stirring up next."

"Let's get moving," said Cho Hee from her position beside Orlund. Cho Hee was what Harper called 'riding shotgun.' Most of the dangerous predators such as the pack hunting akumas had been cleared out of the immediate area of Seefra City, but there was always the possibility that some had drifted in from outside. There was also the possibility of bandits. Not all of Seefra City's exiled outlaws had left the area, and prudent travelers traveled with one eye on their surroundings and a hand near their weapons. Which was why Cho Hee was carrying the weapon that Rhade had confiscated from Ford. Cho Hee had claimed the weapon after Rhade had declared him an outlaw, stating that Ford no longer had any use for it and that 'a girl could never have too many rifles.'

Doyle pulled her hat down over her eyes and tried to get comfortable as the wagon lurched forward. Unlike the majority of Seefran women who used shawls as head coverings, Doyle preferred the wide brimmed hats favored by most Seefran men as they did a better job of keeping the sun off her face than a shawl. Harper had once told her that he had designed her to be able to experience every feeling that an organic woman could feel. That everything had included sunburn. She burned as easily as her blonde hair suggested she would, and it hurt just as much as if she were an organic woman. Sun protection aside, there was one other reason she wore the hat. Harper said she looked hot in it.

The wagon hit a rut in the road, and the jolt threw her halfway across the wagon. Muttering imprecations against robas and wagon designers who designed their vehicles without shock absorbers. Doyle attempted to wedge herself into one of the wagon's corners. It was going to be a long ride to Cho Hee's farm.


	14. Chapter 14

The route to Cho Hee's family farm took them south of the pit mine and the accompanying refinery area, then east toward the range of hills known as the divide. Seefra City was the largest of a handful of towns situated in what was known as the Great Basin. The basin was an area of nearly 500,000 square kilometers completely surrounded by mountains. Running across the basin was a range of hills that divided the area into two halves and was called rather unimaginatively 'the divide.' The hills themselves were a source of several valuable metals including nickel, which the company's mined as well. On the other side of the divide were a number of farms that provided food for the inhabitants of Seefra City. Cho Hee's stepfather owned one of those farms. The rare earth pit mine that was the reason for Seefra City's existence was located so close to the nickel mines that one bored miner was able to build a crude catapult and lob rocks from the hills into the pit mine.

A natural pass in the divide had been expanded and improved upon so that a trip from the farmlands to Seefra City was possible in less than a day… barely.

As there was nothing else to do on the trip the travelers spent most of the trip talking about themselves.

Cho Hee told how her father had died in the mines when she was quite young, and how her mother, Gweneth, married Avineri, who was a widower and needed someone to keep house for him and help look after his children. Between her siblings, Avineri's children by his first marriage, and the children Avineri had by Gweneth, Cho Hee was the fourth of 12 children. She also explained the origin of her name stating that she had been named after her great grandmother, who had been born on Seefra Five and that she used her stepfather's last name as her family name.

Orlund shared some tales of his days working in the mines, though mercifully not the story about the cave-in. Doyle and Trance had far fewer stories to share. Trance did however have one unexpected contribution to the entertainment. While she was unable to remember any details of her past prior to her arrival on Seefra, she still retained memory of dozens of songs. She also had an excellent singing voice.

They arrived at Cho Hee's farm just before sunset. Waiting for them was a somewhat overweight man wearing the broad hat and serape worn by most Seefran males. Upon seeing the man, Cho Hee let out a whoop that caused the robas to start. In reply, the man took off his hat and waved it in greeting, revealing a head that was as bald as an egg.

Cho Hee was off the wagon before Orlund had halted it.

"Da, these are my friends from town." She waved her hand in the direction of Trance and Doyle "That's Doyle and Trance; they work at the Oasis and are friends of the sheriff. And you remember Orlund. He's the man Matt Fairweather found. Trance, Doyle, Orlund, this is my stepdad, Avineri."

"You're looking better than the last time I saw you," said Avineri when Orlund stepped off the wagon.

"I fear that you have the advantage on me, sir," replied Orlund. "I can't recall our meeting,"

"That's not surprising," said Avineri. "You were half-dead at the time. I was at Matt's home having my shoulder looked at when Matt found you wandering about in his south quarter more dead than alive. You picked a good place to get lost 's what passes for a doctor in these parts. Before she married Matt and came out here Inara was a nurse in the territorial defense force. They're both inside. They'll be pleased to see you again."

He turned his attention to his stepdaughter. "Cho, why don't you take your friends inside and introduce them around. I'll have one of your brothers take care of the wagon and the robas."

Cho Hee ushered everyone inside to make introductions. Besides her mother and her siblings, there were representatives from about a dozen families. After a few moments, both Trance and Doyle were completely overwhelmed by the barrage of names. Orlund lasted marginally longer, probably because he had met a few of them while he was recuperating at the Fairweathers'.

The main room of Avineri's house looked more like a hunting lodge than a living and dining area. Mounted on the room's walls were the heads of suigu, a relative of the semi-domesticated robas with an even nastier disposition, those of a pair of akumas, and one of a feral pig. Mounted along with the trophies were a number of firearms. Some of the weapons had a decidedly military look to them.

"Souvenirs from my younger days," said Avineri, noticing where Doyle's eyes were focused.

"Da was a lieutenant colonel with the territorial defense force during the last war with Ehime," explained Cho Hee. "After the war, he settled down here when he couldn't find work after he had been discharged from the force."

"Me and a lot of other men and women," added Avineri. "The company made an offer that sounded good at the time."

In Cho Hee's home it seemed that politics came after dinner. After a few more minutes of small talk, Gweneth, Cho Hee, and the rest of the distaff side of the family went into the kitchen to start working on dinner. Doyle and Trance exchanged glances, then followed. Be the standards of the kitchens in Seefra, Cho Hee's kitchen was huge. The work table in the center of the kitchen was nearly as big as the entire kitchen in the home Trance shared with Doyle and Harper.

Lying on the center of the table near a mixing bowl and a bag of flower was a metal cylinder about twice the diameter of Trance's thumb and somewhat longer than her handspan in length. "What's that?" asked Trance, pointing to the object lying on the table.

"An EBD canister," answered Gweneth. Seeing the blank look on Trance's face, she expanded on her explanation. "It's a canister for an emergency breathing device. Most miners carry one with them. In case of a cave-in or a release of toxic gases, a miner can pull an EBD over his head and hopefully have enough air to get to someplace safe. Each of those canisters contains a half hour's worth of air. The canisters can be replaced while the miner is wearing the device, so theoretically he could survive indefinitely while wearing one."

Doyle gave the cylinders a thoughtful look. "The air must be under a lot of pressure. How dangerous are those things if the regulator fails?"

"Very," said Gweneth.

"You don't want to know," said Cho Hee.

"We lost one of Cho Hee's brothers when an air bottle ruptured while he was wearing his EBD," said Gweneth. "We only buried the lower half of his body. There wasn't enough of the upper half to bury."

Trance took a couple steps away from the canister.

"You don't have to worry about that one," said Gweneth, noticing Trance's reaction. "It's empty. The empty ones make good rolling pins. Why don't you use it to roll out the biscuit dough."

Cho Hee's recruitment speech took place once dinner was over and the dishes cleared away. Her audience was not only receptive, it was enthusiastic. The company tenant farmers were, if possible, even more unhappy with company policies than the miners. The majority of the talk became more of a planning session than a recruitment pitch as Avineri suggested that they start setting up facilities for the miners and their families in the event that they are forced out of their homes. He had a section of land that wasn't good for growing crops, but was relatively near a source of water, which would be ideal for a refugee center.

Not too surprisingly considering that several of the men present were veterans, there was also talk about military strategy just in case the company decided to move against the families. There was talk about logistics and tactics, but the general consensus was that if they could hold the pass, they could continue the strike indefinitely.

Avineri on the other hand wasn't so confident. He pointed out that the company and its sister organizations couldn't afford to let the umwa take root as the idea would spread to other areas, and that they would do whatever they felt necessary to crush the organization. He further added that with the provincial government firmly in the company's pocket, the company would be able to use any methods they felt necessary with no fear of legal reprisals. But it was his final remark that silenced the group.

"If we're going to pull this off, we're going to have to make it expensive for the company not just in money, but in blood. Theirs and ours."


	15. Chapter 15

Beka stepped out of the _Maru's_ airlock and looked around, shielding her eyes from the sun's glare. There at the edge of the company landing strip was a motor vehicle. Not an animal-drawn vehicle, but an actual motorized one. Standing beside the vehicle was a man wearing the uniform of a company policeman. As Beka looked his way, he snapped to attention and opened the passenger side door. Beka was almost impressed. Whoever this General Burma was who wanted to see her, he was obviously pulling out all stops in an effort to make a good impression.

"Good afternoon, Captain," said the Tan as Beka approached the vehicle. "General Burma sent me to pick you up and escort you to his office. If you will take a seat, I'll take you to him."

The driver wasn't one for idle conversation, instead answering Beka's questions with one word answers. After a few moments, Beka gave up trying to engage him in conversation.

The difference between north-side and south-side was like night and day. The road they were traveling on was paved and several lanes wide. What passed for roads in south-side were dirt and were more like wide alleyways than real roads. The buildings actually looked clean. There was even a fountain that seemed to serve decorative purposes rather than as a source of water for the residents. There were also numerous Black and Tans patrolling the area. It seemed to Beka that if a person was unfortunate enough to have to live their life as a mudfoot, this would be a good place to live. True, any contract workers that married and had children were forced to move to south-side, but there was really no reason for the workers to marry in the first place. The company operated brothels with prostitutes of both sexes available to satisfy the needs of their workers.

The vehicle stopped in front of an imposing looking building bearing the Seefra Fuel and Iron logo. There was a pair of Black and Tans guarding the entrance who came to attention as Beka and her escort approached them.

Beka's escort led her through the building before finally stopping at a door that bore the label 'security' where he knocked and announced, "Captain Valentine here to see you, sir."

"Send her in," came a voice from the other side of the door.

Berka's escort opened the door and Beka stepped into the office. There was a man sitting behind a large, well-polished desk. He stood up as Beka entered and extended his hand. "Captain Valentine. I appreciate you answering my request for a visit so quickly. I'm General Akihiko Burma, head of Seefra Fuel and Iron security. Please have a seat." He waved a hand in the direction of the comfortable looking chair placed in front of his desk. "Would you like some refreshments? Coffee, perhaps?"

This time Beka was impressed. Coffee was an expensive luxury. It was grown mostly on Seefra Five, which judging by Burma's slight accent and almond-shaped eyes might have been his original place of birth.

"General?" asked Beka as she savored the aroma of the cup Burma had given her. "I thought that was a military rank, not a police rank."

"We use the same rank system as the military," explained Burma. "It's less confusing to civilians, including company employees."

Beka nodded her head in polite agreement even though she had no idea what the rank structure for the local military was, let alone the police. Small talk continued while she and Burma finished their coffee. When Burma finished his, he placed the cup to one side of his desk and leaned slightly forward. Beka knew that the chitchat was over, and Burma was getting ready to talk business.

"The reason I wanted to speak with you, Captain," said Burma, "is in connection with your old commanding officer. I understand he uses the name Rhade here in Seefra City."

"My XO," corrected Beka. "Rhade was my executive officer."

"Your executive officer then," said Burma. "I'm sure you've heard stories about the activities of the organization known as the Association."

Beka took a minute to search her memory. "A terrorist organization?" she asked.

"Exactly. The company has decided that their activities can no longer be tolerated and is preparing to move into south-side in force to remove the threat once and for all. The problem is that your old executive officer seems to feel that south-side is his own personal fiefdom and has informed the company that the company police are no longer welcome in south-side. Will he and his associates attempt to resist when the company moves on the Association and its supporters?"

"He'll fight," answered Beka. "And if he's had time to train his subordinates properly, you'll have not one, but two battles on your hand."

"That is unfortunate," said Burma. "I was hoping that he would be reasonable. But if he resists, that brings up another question. What sort of outside assistance will he have available. The medevac vessel that picked up the woman he is living with was quite unexpected."

"That was a one-time occurrence," said Beka.

"You're sure of this?" pressed Burma.

"Quite," said Beka. "He's worn out his welcome with what's left of our old organization."

"May I ask what organization that is?" asked Burma.

"You can ask, but I won't tell you," replied Beka. "Suffice it to say that what's left of it has no interest in interfering with your company's operations." Like Rhade, she had decided that the less the natives of the Seefra system knew about her origin, the better. After learning of Rhade's cover story, she had adopted it as her own as well.

Burma nodded his head approvingly. Beka couldn't tell if he was approving the fact she didn't tell him the name of her previous organization or the fact that her organization had no interest in company activities.

"One last question, Captain Valentine. If I have to move against your old executive officer, where will you stand?"

"I don't do lost causes," said Beka. "I was on the losing side of one. I have no intention of doing that again."

Burma got up from his chair and indicated that Beka should do the same. "Thank you, Captain Valentine. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. One other thing. When the company moves against the Association, we may be required to bring in some sensitive materials. Will your vessel be available to transport them?"

"Of course," answered Beka. "Provided the company makes it worth my while."


	16. Chapter 16

Dylan poured himself a drink from the bar in his wardroom, then settled down in his favorite chair. "What is it you wanted to speak to me about, Andromeda?"

Andromeda's image appeared in the stateroom viewscreen. "Captain, I've been monitoring the radio broadcasts from Seefra City. I fear that history is going to repeat itself and that our crew members are in a potentially very dangerous situation."

"Our ex-crew members, Andromeda. If they were your crew, they would be aboard you helping me repair you. And what do you mean history will repeat itself?"

"That's hardly fair, Captain," protested Andromeda. "They had all been living here for years before your arrival. They had all established new lives. Did you really expect them to simply abandon them as soon as you arrived? As for history repeating itself, the current situation in Seefra City all too strongly resembles a period in old Earth history. Some of the historians of that era referred to the period as the labor wars. If history does repeat itself, I expect that very shortly the company will move in force to crush the umwa."

"Frankly, Andromeda, I don't give a damn about what happens to whatever this umwa is or to my ex-crew members. As soon as I have you repaired and you're capable of slipstream travel, we'll be leaving this place."

"Considering that if Beka couldn't find a way out of this system, what makes you think you will be able to, Captain? But setting that fact aside for the moment, I can give you one good reason to care about what happens here. You were born here."

Dylan sprayed his drink across a considerable portion of the stateroom. "Impossible!" he declared when he finished choking. "The Tarn Vedra system was a naturally created system; this one is obviously artificial. There is no way the planets could be in the orbits they are currently in in a naturally occurring system, and the Vedrans' technology was nowhere near high enough to create a system such as this."

"To be blunt, Captain,"said Andromeda, not bothering to conceal her irritation. "You have no idea what the Vedrans were capable of. In case you have forgotten, one of the prime functions of the High Guard was to suppress unauthorized scientific research and technology, And it was the Vedran Empress and her advisers who decided what was unauthorized. The upgrades Harper made to my system, the ones that you were so impressed with, Harper says they were nothing more than logical extensions of my technology. Yet the technology installed in me was designed more than 400 years before I was built. Do you really think that Harper was the first person to come along with those new concepts? And if not, why weren't they installed on me?"

"That still doesn't prove that this system is the Tarn Vedran system," said Dylan. "The continents are all wrong."

"They are exactly where they should be given 30 million years of continental drift."

"Again, impossible. If 30 million years had gone by, the humans here would have evolved into something totally unrecognizable or gone extinct."

"I would hardly call it impossible, Captain. Given that entire planets were relocated to create this system, moving continents would have been nothing more than child's play. The spectrum of the Seefran sun matches Tarn Vedra's . Not approximates it. It is an exact match. And then there is the fact that the isotope ratios of the elements in Seefra's crust are exact matches with that of Tarn Vedra."

"Coincidence. There are trillions of suns. If the giant molecular clouds that formed the two systems were identical, it wouldn't be surprising for the planets to have the same isotope ratios."

"And the flora and fauna are identical to Tarn Vedra's, not just in appearance but genetically."

"Imported. The planets were Vedraformed. They wouldn't be the first planets that were Vedraformed."

"Why would they have imported habus? The Vedrans had always considered them pests. And gokiburis? The Vedrans were trying to exterminate them prior to the rebellion. Why are there so many missing critical species? The lack of bio diversity on the planets in this system has them all on the edge of a total ecological collapse."

Andromeda decided to press the point from another angle. "Captain, what you are arguing is that the Vedrans knew about an obviously artificial solar system that bore an astounding similarity to their own system, then colonized it solely with humans. Does that really make sense? And why didn't anyone know of the system's existence?"

"Need to know," answered Dylan, but the answer seemed weak even to him. Something as big as the discovery of an artificially created solar system would have leaked out. "OK. Let's assume for a moment that this is the Vedran system. Where are the Vedrans? Why aren't there any signs of Vedran architecture? Why are there only humans on the planets?"

"I don't know," answered Andromeda.

Dylan's gotcha smile vanished when Andromeda continued.

"I don't know, but I can surmise. And it's not a very pretty picture. I think the current residents of the Seefra system are the survivors of the Vedrans' attempt to hide from the Spirit of the Abyss.

"I suspect that when the war started, the Vedrans realized that the Spirit of the Abyss was behind the rebellion and isolated themselves from the rest of the universe in an attempt to hide from it. Then they used the technology that they had been actively suppressing the other races from acquiring to re-engineer their entire solar system. Unfortunately, they discovered that their isolation wasn't as complete as they thought and fled the entire system, seeking another sanctuary. But before they did, they attempted to destroy all traces of their existence on Tarn Vedra, including killing the non-Vedran inhabitants of the system who might be able to give the Spirit clues to their new sanctuary.

"There are signs of extensive catastrophic geological activity in the relatively recent past. The lack of bio-diversity. The relatively small populations on each planet. The missing Vedran structures. The fact that the system is not completely cut off from the universe. And, of course, the fact that the inhabitants speak a mangled version of the Vedran dialect of Common. All of this supports my premise."

A look of anger crossed Dylan's face. "So you're telling me that not only were the Vedrans cowards, they were genocidal cowards."

Andromeda's expression softened a bit. She knew how her Captain felt about the Vedrans. What she was suggesting was challenging his faith in the beings he had been brought up to believe were humanity's benevolent mentors. "Yes, Captain, that's exactly what I am suggesting.

"There's one more thing. From my conversations with Rhade's mother-in-law, I have learned that the inhabitants of this system have records going back approximately 1500 years, yet the civil war was 308 years ago. It seems that in this location time is flowing faster than where we came from. Captain, we may no longer be in what we considered our own universe."


	17. Chapter 17

"There. It's done," said Jeri as she finished the last stitch and threw Rhade's shirt at him. "Next time don't wait until you're ready to go on patrol before you tell me that your new shirt doesn't fit. You've had it for over a week."

"I'll try to remember," said Rhade contritely as he fielded the garment. Jeri had been getting ready to go to bed when he had informed her that his shirt needed some alterations. She had not been pleased by the timing of the announcement. "But why the sudden need to get me into new clothes. What's wrong with my old ones?" He held out the shirt to take a look at it, then glanced down at the pants he was wearing. "These new outfits look a lot like Lancer uniforms"

"They should," snapped Jeri in a tone of voice that sounded to Rhade like one of the akumas he had killed on his last hunting trip as she put the sewing needle and thread back into her sewing box.

"Andromeda showed me some when I was aboard her. These were patterned after them.

"As to why you need new clothing, it's your own fault. When you only had a handful of deputies working for you everyone knew who they were. Now you have so many that people can't remember who they are, so we made these uniforms for you. Trance and I must have enlisted half the neighborhood to get them made up for you and your deputies."

"You've been busy," said Rhade, still trying to soothe his angry spouse, as he finished buttoning the shirt.

"You have no idea," said Jeri. "While you were busy overseeing the training of your new deputies Mother's been working on getting some sort of city government and tax system set up so they can get paid."

"Taxes?" said Rhade giving Jeri a blank look. "Next you'll be telling me she's planning to run for mayor."

"City commissioner actually," said Jeri anticipating the look on Rhade's face at the announcement. She wasn't disappointed. Ignoring Rhade's open mouthed look she went on with her explanation."Doyle's been working on evacuation plans in case the company decides to mass evict umwa members from their homes. Harper and Orlund have been up in the hills near Cho Hee's farm helping set up the evacuation site. We've already moved some families into it. Cho Hee's father's been working setting up defensive positions in the gap just in case the company decides to move against the families. Mother says that we can hope that the company will be reasonable, but that we had best prepare for the worst."

"Your mother's a wise woman," said Rhade, still a bit overwhelmed by just how much had been going on that he hadn't been unaware of.

"Of course she is," said Jeri. She decided a bit more as payback was in order for Rhade waiting until the last moment to tell her his shirt needed some work done on it."So it's good you were smart enough to listen to her when she said you should take up with me."

From behind Rhade came the sound of choked off laughter. Rhade turned around to glare at two of his deputies, Moretti and O'Keefe, who were standing against one of the room's walls, and attempting unsuccessfully to keep straight faces.

"If there's any truth," said O'Keefe, still trying to conceal his grin, "to that saying 'bout how behind a great man is a great woman, you're gonna be running this place. You got two behind you, your wife and her mother."

Rhade allowed himself a brief smile at the compliment to the women of his household, then his expression became serious. "You just make sure that they stay there," he said as he buckled his equipment belt and checking that his pistol, force lance and two-way were all in place. "Dennic and Collins will be relieving you later. I don't always put much faith in what Vox says, but he's been right often enough so that if he says the Association has targeted me and my family I'll take precautions."

"You don't have to go on this patrol, sir," said Moretti. "Someone else can take the graveyard shift with the newbies.."

The look on Rhade's face went from serious to grim. "If I do that," he "the Association will have won. We can't let them think they can intimidate us with threats."

"He's right," said Jeri though her tone of voice made it clear that she wasn't happy with the admission. She hadn't wanted Rhade to go on the patrol either. They had argued about it earlier that day, but Rhade had convinced her that not going would be an even worse option. "If the company or the Association thinks we're afraid of them they'll be all over us. He has to go." She gave Rhade a quick peck on the mouth. "Be safe and I'll see you in the morning."

Rhade gave Jeri a kiss of his own, one that was considerably more than a brief peck, then adjusted his equipment belt fractionally, ensuring that his pistol was within easy reach. Satisfied that it was, he turned back to face O'Keefe and Moretti."The two of you stay here and keep an eye on my family. I have some rounds to make."

The novice deputies were waiting for him at the market There were two of them, Parker and Kinney, both wearing the new uniforms. They were young, not much older than Jeri, and male, but other than that they were about as opposite in appearance as two humans could be. Kinney was tall, lean, and totally bald, with pale skin, beady blue eyes, and a nose that looked more like a beak than a nose. Parker was short, probably no taller than Harper, and stocky, with shoulders that were nearly as wide as Rhade's. His skin was a dark as Kinney's was pale. Both men snapped to attention when they saw Rhade approaching.

After a moment of small talk Rhade began the patrol. In addition to his unit there were two other patrols making their rounds, plus one more stationed at the Oasis to function as a reserve. Each patrol was assigned an area to cover and was equipped with a two-way. He didn't have enough men and women to cover the south-side as well as he would have liked, but then he suspected he never would have enough.

The marketplace was still open, but business was dying down. It would be closing for the night soon, to open again shortly after dawn when there was enough light enough to see by, but the air temperature was still cool. Rhade took his charges through the market introducing them to some of the merchants who were busy closing up for the night and asking what they had heard or seen during the business day that they thought he might be interested in.

After making the rounds of the market, Rhade and his charges began the sweep of the rest of their area. It turned out that Kinney and Parker were not only opposites physically, but mentally as well. Kinney was a talker. He kept up a constant stream of chatter while Parker spoke mostly in single syllables. Rhade wasn't sure if this was the Parker's natural way of communication, or if Kinney simply wasn't giving the other man a chance to talk.

By the time they made it back to the market it was well past midnight and the area was deserted. The majority of the area was in deep shadow. The only illumination being the stars and the occasional chem lantern. Kinney was still talking. He was asking the others what they thought of Virgil's latest broadcast where he had discussed the list of demands the umwa had presented to the company. When Rhade admitted that he hadn't listened to the broadcast Kinney began to give what seemed to Rhade to be a verbatim description of the broadcast.

Kinney rattled on discussing the broadcast when he abruptly stopped in mid word. A surprised look came over his face. At the same instant Rhade heard the crack of gunshot. Kinney reached up to touch his chest. He stared for an instant at the blood on his fingers then collapsed.


End file.
